Never underestimate the power of your comfort zone
n. Comfort Zone: Artificially created mental boundary in which an individual derives a sense of security.
When it comes to achieving your goals and reaching new levels of success, the ability to get outside of your comfort zone is essential. Moving from an awareness of this fact to doing something about it, is often 90% of the battle. Our comfort zone is represented by our daily habits, routines, and general assumptions we make about our lives. These are extremely powerful, and act like a strong magnetic force that holds us in place. Our mind gets programmed to think in similar ways day after day. We cling to the past instead of looking to the future. Before we know it, we aren't questioning if what we are doing today is what we want to be doing, or if we are doing it simply because it is what we did yesterday. This force to stay as we are and avoid change can be so compelling that it often takes someone or something very persuasive to move us outside of our comfort zone.
"...we forget to question if what I am doing today is what I want to be doing, or if I am doing it simply because it is what I did yesterday."
If it is so comfortable to stay in your comfort zone, why do leaders want and need to change? Leaders that avoid change and retreat to previous patterns restrict others from making changes. This can paralyze an entire team, and everyone begins to question if goals can be achieved. In today’s competitive global economy, business innovation and evolution are the only answer. Moving beyond your comfort zones allows you to begin to learn and experience new things. This is where the greatest opportunity exists – even when we make mistakes, learning is inevitable. The growth we experience outside of our comfort zone is explosive because we are now using our leadership potential. This new growth produces energy and inspiration, which creates even more positive change. The cycle builds momentum, and before we know it new business ideas are born, relationships are created, and our life’s aspirations are realized!
The first step to getting outside of your comfort zone involves getting conscious of your daily routines and habits. As you become aware of how you are holding yourself back, you can begin to challenge yourself and confront self-imposed limitations. Give yourself permission to take risks, and let go of that sense of security. As Helen Keller stated, “Security is mostly a superstition, life is either a daring adventure or nothing.” Stepping outside of your comfort zone takes courage, which isn’t the absence of fear; it is the ability to act in spite of it.
Next, make it a habit through practice. Just as living in your comfort zone becomes a comfortable habit, make it a regular practice to do things differently. For example: take a new route to work everyday for the next week and really pay attention to what you see; get to know someone from another department at work; call an expert about a subject you have a question on; go to places that you haven’t been before; give a presentation at work; or take on a new activity or hobby that you have never experienced. The list is endless and your opportunities for growth are infinite.
Rapport Leadership International’s training is designed to get you outside of your comfort zone because we know this is where your greatest growth takes place, and where your personal and business potential is unleashed. As you and others in your organization make new choices to get out of your comfort zones today, you will breakthrough to new levels of leadership, achieve outrageous goals, and take your team to even greater success. Never underestimate YOUR POWER when you live outside of your comfort zone!
